Single faceted round back wire, oblique crimp connecting rod woven wire conveyor belt

Abstract

Wire stock for connecting rods is run through the nip of a pair of obliquely toothed rolls having teeth which taper from one face of the roll towards the other, and have a larger radius at the tip than along the portions flanking the tip. The angle of obliqueness matches the angle that a turn of a spiral wire will traverse the connecting rod. Round wire stock for the single-faceted spiral wires is run through the nip of a pair of rolls one of which has a cylindrical surface (i.e., a flat longitudinal profile), and the other of which has a circumferential groove with a slightly larger diameter than the round wire stock. As the wire is flattened on one side, its curved side is broadened. As the resultingly single-faceted round wire is wound into flattened spiral form, it is spatially orientationally guided, so that the facet becomes located facing outwards. The rods and flat spirals are conventionally assembled with one another and secured to one another at respective ends, to provide a balanced flat spiral woven wire conveyor belt with rounds of turns nested in concave oblique crimp notches on the connecting rods.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A balanced flat spiral woven wire conveyor belt, comprising: a longitudinally extending series of transversally extending flat spiral wire units, in which each unit is generally oval-shaped in end elevational profile ,being wider than thick, and alternate units in said series spiraling in a left-handed sense and a right-handed sense;   each said flat spiral wire unit being made of single flat faceted, round-backed wire, wound into the respective unit so that a flat facet thereof faces outwards, and around back thereof faces inwards relative to a respective notional spiral about which said wire spirals, including at leading and trailing turns;   a longitudinally extending series of transversally extending connecting rods, in which each rod skewers all trailing turns of a respective leading one of said units, and all leading turns of a respective trailing one of said units, so that said leading and trailing turns are maintained in two intercalated series; and   means securing respective ones of said units, at opposite ends thereof, to respective ones of said rods, at opposite ends thereof;   each connecting rod being of serpentine form in plan view so as to alternatingly provide in diametrically opposite, leading and trailing sides thereof, a plurality of oblique, concavely curved crimp pockets corresponding in number, spacing and spatial orientation so that a surface portion of each turn of each unit skewered on a respective rod has interfacial contact throughout a generally oval-shaped region with a floor of a respective oblique, concavely curved crimp notch on the respective connecting rod;   adjoining crimp pockets on the leading side of each connecting rod and adjoining crimp pockets on the trailing side of each connecting rod being spaced from one another, axially of the respective connecting rod by respective distances each of which is longer than each said flat faceted, round-backed wire is wide across the transverse cross-sectional profile of such wire;   said single flat faceted, round-backed wire having said round back thereof being of oval transverse cross-sectional profile throughout, between opposite ends of said single facet, said oval profile being elongated along an axis which is substantially parallel to said single facet;   said units and said rods being made of steel; and   said flat faceted, round-backed wire having a wire thickness to wire width to facet width ratio of about 83:116:80.   
     
     
       2. The balanced flat spiral woven wire conveyor belt of claim 1, wherein: said units and said rods are made of three percent chrome steel.   
     
     
       3. The balanced flat spiral woven wire conveyor belt of claim 2, wherein: said securing means is constituted by welding.